Knitting machines



Oct. 3, I967 B. H. WITTLER 3,344,619

KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 18, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 m VENIOR WITNESS Bernard H. Wilt/er W J i BY EM AT TORNE Y Oct. 3, 1967 B. H. WITTLER 3,344,619

KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 18, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.

INVENTOR.

Bernard H. Witt/er .7 V ZIIOQNEXV WITNESS MQZ A B. H. WITTLER KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 18, 1965 4' Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTOR. Bernard H. Wifller WITNESS BY 1 y gr ronun Oct. 3, 1967 B. H. WITTLER 3,344,619

KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 18, 1965 4v Sheets-Sheet 4 \QINVENTOR.

Bernard H. Miller w/nvEss United States Patent 3,344,619 KNITTING MACHINES Bernard H. Wittler, Rossville, Ga., assignor to The Singer Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 440,835 7 Claims. (CI. 6684) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for making a strip of warp knit fabric is described. The machine is useful for knitting together blanks of cloth, say knitting together blanks of cloth, say knit cloth, or for knitting a selvage on a given piece of cloth. The machine consists of a plurality of bolt needles, arranged in a row, that penetrate cloth from one side thereof for cooperation with yarn feeds which respectively lay yarn in the hooks of the bolt needles, thereby to form loops as the needles are withdrawn out of the cloth.

This invention relates to knitting machines, and more particularly to a machine for producing a knited strip which may serve in and of itself as a ribbon or knitted tape, or which may be formed as a joinder between abutting knit fabric panels or formed as a ravel free edge finish along the border of a knit fabric panel.

The knitting machine of this invention employs a group of knitting needles reciprocated in cooperation with a group of yarn guiding elements which are shifted in unison to present yarns alternately to adjacent knitting needles. A support is provided for the accommodation of knit fabric panels to be joined or selvedged by the formation of the knitted strip by the knitting machine of this invention.

In order for the knitted strip produced by the knitting machine of this invention to be compatable and blend harmoneously with the knit fabric panels which this knitted strip joins or selvedges, it is advantageous that the stitch size and gauge of the knitted strip be readily and conveniently made to conform with that of the knit fabric panels being processed.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel means for supporting and actuating the yarn guiding elements of a knitting machine of the above character which is particularly advantageous in making possible the convenient exchange of knitting needles and yarn guiding elements suitable for the production of any one of a wide range of stitch sizes and gauges.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a means accessible to the machine operator for at will shifting the means for supporting and actuating the yarn guiding elements into an abnormal position in which the yarn may be reeved or inserted conveniently therein.

Since the knitting instrumentalities of the invention are particularly adapted for producing knitted concatenation of yarn through a preexisting knitted panel, it is essential to the successful operation of this machine that the knitting needles be capable of readily penetrating preexisting knitted panels and that stitch length control should be accurate and uniform so that the knitting produced by the machine may conform with that of the knit panel being processed. It is an object of this invention to provide in a knitting machine of the above character, a novel and advantageous combination of knitting instrumentalities and means for drawing the knitted stitches therefrom which will produce the required consistent stitch length control.

In order for the machine of this invention to apply a strip of knitting to a border or edge of a knitted panel "ice which is curved or provided with a corner, it is necessary that the means for drawing the knitted stitches from the knitting needles be compact and engage only a relatively small area of the finished product closely adjacent to the knitting needles. Under these conditions and in view of the inherent flexibility of a knitted concatenation of yarns, any brief application of force for drawing the knitted stitches from the knitting needles will be largely counteracted by the resilience of the knit product.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a knitting machine of the above character in which the means for drawing the knitted stitches from the knitting needles operates during a far longer proportion of time during each cycle of knitting needle reciprocation than has been theretofore attainable.

The difficulty of attaining the foregoing object may be explained with reference to the adaptability of the knitting instrumentalities of this invention for producing knitted concatenation of yarn through a preexisting knitted panel which imposes the requirement that the means for drawing the knitted stitches from the needles can operate only during those periods when the knitting needles are reciprocated out of the work. The permissible needle movement above the work, however, is limited since a rise appreciably greater than the stitch length will draw up immanageably long stitches. With spring beard or pivoted latch knitting needles, in which needle movement is required to clear the heard or latch, the proportion of time during each needle reciprocation during which the needle rises out of the work is exceedingly small and this time cannot be increased by increasing the needle stroke.

The aforegoing objects of this invention are attained by the provision of a novel combination of means for periodically drawing stitches from the knitting needle together with knitting instrumentalities including sliding bolt needles in which the opening and closing of the yarn accommodating eye or hook of the needles is accomplished independently of the needle reciprocation and therefore, the needle may be positioned clear of the work at a distance not appreciably greater than the length of a stitch but for an appreciably greater proportion of the time during each needle reciprocation.

With the above and additional objects and advantages in view, reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred form of this invention in which:

FIG. 1 represents a vertical cross sectional view taken transversely of a knitting machine embodying this invention,

FIG. 2 represents a vertical cross sectional view taken transversely of the knitting machine of FIG. 1 substantially along line 2-2,

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the knitting machine of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 represents a cross sectional view of a portionof the knit-ting machine taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 represents a perspective view of the means for supporting and actuating the yarn guiding elements with portions broken away more clearly to illustrate the arrangement of parts,

FIG. 6 represents a perspective diagrammatic view of a' portion of the yarn guiding elements illustrating the relation of the yarn guiding elements with the throat plate and with the knitted fabric strip produced by the machine of this invention, and

FIG. 7 represents a perspective diagrammatic View of one yarn guiding element illustrating the path of motion imparted during the formation of one knit stitch and also illustrating the abnormal position of the yarn guiding element attainable with this invention for convenience of inserting yarn.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a machine casing 11 is provided in which is journaled a main shaft 12 having a belt pulley 13 affixed thereto externally of the casing by which turning movement may be imparted to the main shaft 12 from any desired drive motor (not shown). Fast on the main shaft 12 within the casing is a needle reciprocating eccentric 14 embraced by a pitrnan 15 which pivotally engages a cross rod 16 fixed by clamps 17 to extend transversely between spaced parallel needle reciprocating bars 18 slidably journaled in the machine casing. Externally of the machine casing on a bar 19 which is clamped in position spanning the needle reciprocating bars 18, a needle block 20 is secured by a screw 21. The block 20 accommodates a group of knitting needles 22 in fixed predetermined relation preferably in two parallel rows with the needles in each row being equally spaced at a distance substantially twice that which exists between the rows and with the needles of each row offset laterally opposite the space between needles of the opposing row.

Referring to FIGS. and 7, each needle 22 is formed with a tapered point 23, with a yarn engaging hook or throat 24 and with a longitudinal slot 25 leading onto the yarn engaging hook 24. Slidably arranged in the longitudinal slot 25 of each needle is a sliding bolt 26, adapted when reciprocated relatively to the needle to open or close the yarn engaging hook or throat 24. The sliding bolts 26 are fixed in integral assembly on a block 27 secured by screws 28 to a bar 29 extending across a pair of reciprocatory bars 30-30 journaled in the machine casing. A cross rod 31 which is fixed by clamps 32 to extend transversely between said pair of reciprocatory bars 30, pivotally accommodates a pitrnan 33 which embraces a bolt actuating eccentric 34 fast on the main shaft. The eccentrics 14 and 34 may preferably be of equal throw but with the point of maximum eccentricity of the bolt actuating eccentric arranged at suflicient angle to that of the needle reciprocating eccentric as to close the yarn engaging hooks of the needles during the upstroke of the needle and to open the yarn engaging hooks on the downstroke thereof.

Also slidably journaled in the machine casing 11 are bars 39 having a cross piece 40 spanning the lower extremity to which cross piece is secured a work holding foot 41 formed with apertures 42 accommodating reciprocation of the needles 22. Blocks 4343 secured one to each of the bars 39 slide in slots 4444 in the casing 11 and abut coil springs 4545 one on each bar 39, which coil springs may be adjusted as to tension by spring abutting sleeves 46 threaded in the casing 11 so as to urge the foot 41 downwardly under selected spring tension. The blocks 43, moreover, serve when engaged by rock arms 47 fast on a rock shaft 48 in the casing to elevate the work holding foot 41 in opposition to the coil springs 45. For operator influenced raising of the foot 41, the rock shaft 48 has handles 49 fixed thereto.

Means for supporting and actuating the yarn guiding elements Referring particularly to FIG. 5, a group of yarn guiding elements 60 each in the form of a slender tube are fixed integrally in an assembled unit and carried, as will be described hereinbelow, for movement in unison to deliver yarns into the knitting needle hooks 24. Considering any one of the yarn guiding elements 60, during each knitting needle reciprocation, the element 60 is imparted a translatory oscillating movement in a semicircular path back and forth about the axis of reciprocation of one of the knitting needles as indicated by the curved arrow in FIG. 7, during which motion a yarn is laid in the needle hook. Between successive needle reciprocations, the yarn guiding elements are additionally oscillated laterally a distance corresponding to the spacing between the needles in each of the parallel needle rows.

It will be understood that the spacing and arrangement of the yarn guiding elements 60 corresponds to that of the needles 22 but that one yarn guiding element 60 in addition to the number of needles is included in each parallel row. Each end yarn guiding element in each row will then deliver yarn only to the end needle and only on alternate needle reciprocations so that the knitted strip produced by the machine of the invention will have a ravel free edge at each side.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, a generally rectangular and U-shaped frame 70 is provided having a flat top surface 71 for supporting the knitted strip produced by the machine as well as knit fabric panels to be joined or edge finished by this machine. Depending from the top surface 71 are symmetrical end flanges 72 and 73, each end flange being provided at the lower extremity with a pivot pin 74 at each side. The pivot pins 74 each are embraced by one of four identical depending links 75 journaled beneath the machine casing on pivot pins 76. The frame 70 is suspended in the machine casing with the top surface 71 disposed beneath and substantially perpendicular to the path of reciprocation of the needles and the pivot pins 74 and 76 are arranged so as to provide for substantially rectilinear oscillation of the frame 70 parallel to the needle rows.

The top surface 71 of the frame 70 is formed with an aperture 80 adapted to accommodate an exchangeable apertured work supporting plate 81 formed with apertures 82 having a spacing and arrangement corresponding to that of the needles 22 plus an additional aperture in each row. In addition, the top surface 71 of the frame rearwardly of the aperture 80 is formed with a plurality of slots 83 adapted, as will be described later, to accommodate the means for drawing the knitted stitches from the knitting needles.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the drive for the yarn guiding elements 60 is taken from the main shaft 12 by means of a shaft 85, which extends into a gear box 86 in the machine casing 11. Meshing bevel gears 8787 fast on the main shaft 12 and the shaft drive the shaft 85 at the same speed as the main shaft. A stub shaft 88 journaled transversely in the gear box 86 carries a bevel gear 89 having twice the pitch diameter of a bevel gear 90 fast on the shaft 85 and meshing therewith. A shaft 91 journaled in the machine casing substantially parallel to the main shaft extends into the gear box 86 and carries a bevel gear 92 in mesh with bevel gear 89 but of a size equal to that of the bevel gear 90. While the shaft 91 will thus rotate at a speed equal to that of the main shaft 12, the stub shaft 88 will rotate at one half the speed of the main shaft.

For imparting reciprocatory movement to the frame 70 parallel to the rows of needles 22, a constant breadth cam 95 is fast on the stub shaft 88 exteriorly of the gear box 86. One arm 96 of a bell crank lever, which is fulcrummed on a pin 97 in the machine casing is bifurcated and carries opposed roller followers 98 which track the constant breadth cam 95. Another arm 99 of the bell crank is slotted as at 100 and accommodates a pivot pin 101 which may be adjustably clamped along the slot 100. A connecting link 102 embracing the pivot pin 101 at one extremity is connected at the other extremity to a pivot pin 103 carried by a bracket 104 secured by screws 105 to end flange 72 of the frame 70.

Pivotally mounted within the U-shaped frame 70 for turning movement about an axis parallel to and beneath the top surface 71 of the frame 70 is a bracket 110. As best illustrated in FIG. 5, the bracket includes a vertical rear wall 111 and forwardly projecting vertical sidewalls 112 and 113. Each sidewall 112, 113 is formed at the top with spaced inturned ears 114 adapted to support a pivot pin 115. The bracket 110 is preferably journaled in the frame 70 by means of shouldered trunnion pins 116 and 117 each accommodated in a split clamp formed on the bracket sidewalls 112 and 113 respectively, and

secured therein by clamp screws 118. The trunnion pins 116 and 117 are journaled each in one of the end flanges 72, 73 of the U-shaped frame 70 as illustrated in FIG. 5.

An eccentric 120 fast on the shaft 91 serves to oscillate the bracket 110, one oscillation during each reciprocation of the knitting needles. The eccentric 120 is embraced by a pitman 121 connected by a pivot pin 122 which may be selectively adjusted along a slot 123 formed in a rock arm 124 fast on a rock shaft 125 journaled in the machine casing. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the rock shaft 125 carries a block 126 formed with spaced lugs 127, 128 of which the lug 127 is threaded and accommodates a clamp screw 129. Freely journaled on the rock shaft 125 is a bell crank lever of which one arm 130 etxends between the lug 128 and the clamp screw 129. Between the other arm 131 of the bell crank and a rock arm 132 fast on the trunnion pin 117, is arranged a link 133 provided with a spherical connection 134 at each extremity. When the clamp screw 129 is turned so as to force the bell crank arm 130 against the lug 128 the connection for oscillating the bracket 110 will assume a state of operativeness effective to impart needle avoiding motion to the yarn guiding elements, and this is the operative position of the parts necessary during knitting. When the knitting machine is stopped, the clamp screw 129 may be loosened to shift the yarn guiding elements into alignment with the knitting needle axis and thus into alignment with the apertures 82 of the plate 81 for the purpose of facilitating threading thereof as will be described in greater detail hereinbelow.

The yarn guiding elements 60, each in the form of a slender tube are carried in an integral assembly in an angle block 140 and secured by screws 141 to the rear wall 149 of a carrier 150. As best illustrated in FIG. 5, the carrier 150 is formed with forwardly extending and downwardly offset flanges 151 and 152 one at each side. The flanges 151 and 152 are each provided at the lower extremity with projecting pivot pins 153 at each side. Each pivot pin 153 is embraced by one depending arm 154 of a bifurcated yoke 155, the yokes 155 being journaled each in one of the pivot pins 115 carried in the oscillating bracket 110. The carrier 150 is thus supported for substantially rectilinear movement parallel to that of the frame 70 within the oscillating bracket 110.

Reciprocation is imparted to the carrier 150, one cycle for each reciprocation of the knitting needles, by an eccentric 156 fast on the shaft 91. A pitman 157 embracing the eccentric 156 is connected by a pivot pin 158 which is adjustable along a slotted rock arm 159 fast on a rock shaft 160 in the machine casing. Iournaled on a bracket 161 secured by screws 162 to the flange 73 of the U-shaped frame 70 is a rock shaft 163 of which a rock arm 164 is connected to a rock arm 165 on the rock shaft 160 by means of a link 166 connected to each rock arm by a spherical connection. A spherical stud 167 secured in the flange 151 of the carrier 150 is embraced by a link 168 which is connected to a rock arm 165 on the rock shaft 163 by means of a spherical connection. The link 168 passes through an aperture 170 in the end wall 112 of the bracket 110.

By means of the above described supporting assembly .the yarn guiding elements 60- are subjected to the influences of three separate drive means. The constant breadth cam 95 serves to shift the frame 70 laterally a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent knitting needles in each row at one half the frequency of knitting needles reciprocation. During each knitting needle reciprocation the eccentrics 120 and 156 shift the bracket 110 and the carrier 150, respectively, to impart a combined curvilinear movement to the yarn guiding elements 60 about the knitting needles as illustrated by the curved arrow in FIG. 7. The spherical connections for the link 133 and for the links 166 and 168 accommodate the various motions without interference.

FIG. 6 illustrates diagrammatically a fragment of the plate 81 a group of the yarn guiding elements 60 for one of the rows of knitting needles and includes the yarns as they are concatenated by that one row of knitting needles. FIG. 6 indicates the manner in which one yarn guiding element 60 in addition to the number of knitting needles cooperate to provide a knitted strip with ravelfree edges. It will be appreciated that the second row of knitting needles will produce stitches between those illustrated in FIG. 6 and when the resulting knitted stitches are drawn from the knitting needles accurately a distance equal to the spacing between the rows of knitting needles, the stitches formed by both rows of needles will occur in alignment in the final product appearing as common courses of knitting.

Means for drawing stitches from the knitting needles As best illustrated in FIGS. 2. and 3, a pair of rock shafts and 181 are journaled in the machine casing on opposite sides of the support assembly for the yarn guiding elements, for the purpose of imparting orbital motion to a generally rectangular feed frame 182 which extends beneath the top surface 71 of the frame 70 and between the end flanges 72, 73 thereof. The rock shaft 180 carries spaced upstanding rock arms 183 between which extends a pivot rod 184 on which bearing lugs 185 on the feed frame 182 are journaled. The rock shaft 181 carries spaced horizontally extending rock arms 186 to each of which is pivoted a slide block 187 which slide blocks are embraced each in a generally horizontal guide slot 188 formed in the feed frame 182. Oscillation of the rock shaft 180, therefore, imparts horizontal reciprocation to the feed frame 182 substantially parallel to the top surface 71 of the frame 70 while oscillation of the rock shaft 181 rocks the feed frame 182 about the pivot rod 184 toward and away from the top surface 71 of the frame 70.

The rock shaft 180 is oscillated by an eccentric 190 fast on the shaft 91 by way of a pitman 191 embracing the eccentric and connected by a pivot pin 192 which may be selectively adjusted along a slot 193 formed in a rock arm 194 fast on the rock shaft 180.

The rock shaft 181 is similarly oscillated by an eccentric 195 fast on the shaft 91 by way of a pitman 196 embracing the eccentric and connected by a pivot pin 197 which may be selectively adjusted along a slot 138 formed in a rock arm 199 fast on the rock shaft 181.

Secured to the feed frame 182 beneath the top surface 71 of the frame 70', rearwardly of and parallel to the rows of knitting needles 22 is an upwardly open channel 200 of rectangular cross section. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, an upper opening in the channel is bordered front and rear by inturned lips 201, 202 slidably to constrain a slide block 203 preferably formed integrally beneath a work feeding element 204. The work feeding element 204 is formed at the top with a plurality of upstanding ribs 205 each accommodated in one of the slots 83 in the top surface 71 of the frame 70. The ribs 205 are each serrated so as to grip either the concatenation of yarns drawn from the knitting needles 22 or such yarn concatenation together with a knit panel through which they may be formed.

The feed frame 182 does not partake of the motion of the yarn guide supporting assembly, but the work feeding element 204, by virtue of engagement of the ribs 205 with the slots 83, is entrained to shift laterally with the frame 70. The channel 200 accommodates such lateral shift of the work feeding element while at the same time imparting to the work feeding element the orbital motion of the feed frame.

Operation In order to ready the knitting machine of this invention for the production of knitting in any selected one of a wide range of gauges or for any selected total number of stitches in width within a permissible range, it is only necessary to exchange the knitting needle block 20, the block 27 of needle bolts, the plate 81, and the angle block 140, securing in place a set having the desired gauge and the desired total number of needles.

The means for supporting and actuating the yarn guiding elements may then be readily regulated to accommodate the particular gauge of knitting needle which has been selected. Such regulation includes the adjustment of the pivot pin 101 in the slot 100 providing for lateral movement of the frame 70 between needle penetration a distance exactly equal to the spacing between adjacent knitting needles. The regulation also includes selective adjustment of the pivot pins 122 and 158 in order to provide for motion of the yarn guiding elements 60 closely about the knitting needles during each needle reciprocation thus to lead the yarns to the needle throats unerringly.

The means for drawing the stitches from the knitting needles may then be adjusted to provide for a length of stitch equal to the space between the rows of knitting needles by adjusting the pivot pin 192. A further adjustment of the height to which the ribs 205 rise through the slots 82 into engagement with the knitting is available by way of the pivot pin 197 since, generally, a thicker work product may require an increased rise of the ribs 205.

It will be appreciated that the movement of the work feeding element 204 While the ribs 205 are raised into engagement with the work can take place during a considerable proportion of each cycle of needle reciprocation because of the combination with the sliding bolt needles. This results from the fact that the knitting needles 22 need not be reciprocated to a point lower than that at which the throats 24 clear beneath the plate 81, and no additional downward motion is required for the purpose of opening the needle throats as would be the case with other needle types such as spring beard or pivoted latch knitting needles. Consequently a greater proportion of each needle reciprocation occurs while the needle is raised slightly above the work, and it is during such periods of raised needle position that the transport of the work can occur.

With the above described adjustments completed, the knitting machine of this invention is a readiness for insertion of yarns through the yarn guiding elements 60 and the corresponding apertures 82 of the plate 81 so that knitting may commence. The yarns may be lead to the yarn guiding elements 60 through flexible tubes 210 preferably made of resilient synthetic plastic material, one tube for each of the yarn guiding elements 60. The tubes 210 are preferably directed to a common support bracket 220 secured beneath the machine casing. Any known yarn creeling arrangement including known yarn tensioning means, yarn breakage detection devices and the like may be employed for delivering yarns to the tubes 210.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 7, threading of yarns through the tubes 210, yarn guiding elements 60 and apertures 82 of the plate 81 is facilitated by the provision for temporarily shifting the drive connections for the bracket 110 into an abnormal position. With the yarn guiding elements occupying the position marked A in FIG. 7 midway of each oscillation about the knitting needles, when the needles are raised, loosening of the clamp screw 129 will cause the yarn guiding elements to shift each into alignment with the corresponding aperture 82 as indicated at B in FIG. 7. Yarns may then be threaded conveniently by simply passing conventional threading wires with the yarns completely through the tubes 210, yarn guiding elements 60 and apertures 82. The position of knitting machine parts corresponding to that position of the yarn guiding elements marked A in FIG. 7 may be ascertained by the visual inspection by the operator, or an appropriate timing mark or indicia may be applied as on the shaft 91 visually to indicate such position. With all yarns properly introduced, the clamp screw 29 is again tightened to render the bracket operative and the knitting machine will be in readiness for operation.

Having set forth the nature of this invention, what is claimed herein is:

1. In a knitting machine having a casing, a plurality of knitting needles carried in said casing in alignment laterally of the direction of knitting, means for imparting endwise reciprocatory motion to said knitting needles in unison, yarn guiding means for directing yarn loops alternately to laterally adjacent knitting needles on alternate endwise needle reciprocations, and means for drawing knitted yarn loops from said knitting needles, said yarn guiding means comprising a frame supported in said knitting machine casing for substantially rectilinear movement laterally of the direction of knitting, a bracket pivotally mounted in said frame on an axis extending laterally of the direction of knitting, a carrier pivotally supported in said bracket for substantially rectilinear movement laterally of the direction of knitting, a plurality of yarn guiding elements, means for supporting said yarn guiding elements on said carrier in alignment laterally of the direction of knitting, and means for shifting said yarn guiding elements in cooperation with said endwise reciprocatory needles including separate drive means for reciprocating said frame, said bracket, and said carrier, and means for operating each of said separate drive means in timed relation with said needle reciprocating means.

2. In a knitting machine as set forth in claim 1, said drive means for reciprocating said bracket and said drive means for reciprocating said carrier each being arranged to provide for a frequency of reciprocation equal to that of said knitting needle reciprocation to provide for curvilinear movement of each of said yarn guiding elements about one of said knitting needles during each needle reciprocation, and said drive means for reciprocating said frame being arranged to provide for a frequency of reciprocation equal to one half that of said knitting needle reciprocation to shift said yarn guiding elements laterally into cooperation with laterally adjacent needles on alternate endwise needle reciprocation.

3. In a knitting machine as set forth in claim 1 at least one of said separate drive means includes an operator influenced means for selectively varying the reciprocatory motion imported thereby.

4. In a knitting machine having a casing, a plurality of knitting needles carried in an exchangeable block in said casing in alignment laterally of the direction of knitting, means for imparting endwise reciprocatory motion to said knitting needles in unison through an exchangeable work supporting plate carried on said knitting machine casing, yarn guiding means carried in an exchangeable block in said machine casing for directing yarn loops alternately to laterally adjacent knitting needles on alternate endwise needle reciprocations, and means for drawing knitted yarn loops from said knitting needles, said guiding means comprising a frame supported in said knitting machine casing for substantially rectilinear movement substantially parallel to said needle alignment, a bracket pivotally mounted in said frame on an axis substantially parallel to said needle alignment, a carrier pivotally supported in said bracket for substantially rectilinear movement substantially parallel to said needle alignment, a plurality of yarn guiding elements, means for supporting said yarn guiding elements on said carrier in alignment laterally of the direction of knitting, and means for shifting said yarn guiding elements in cooperation with said endwise reciprocatory needles including separate drive means for reciprocating said frame, said bracket, and said carrier, means for operating each of said separate drive means in timed relations with said needle reciprocating means and operator influenced means for selectively varying the reciprocatory motion imparted by each of said separate drive means.

5. In a knitting machine having a casing, a plurality of knitting needles carried in said casing in alignment laterally of the direction of knitting, each of said knitting needles being formed with an open yarn engaging throat, a Work supporting plate carried on said knitting machine casing having knitting needle accommodating apertures formed therein, means for imparting endwise reciprocatory motion to said knitting needles in unison through said work supporting plate apertures, a plurality of endwise shiftable bolts one for each of said knitting needles, means for imparting endwise reciprocatory motion to said bolts in timed relation with said needle reciprocation to open and close the yarn engaging throats of said knitting needles, yarn guiding means carried in said casing for directing yarns into said opened yarn engaging throats, and means for drawing yarn loops from said knitting needles comprising a shiftable work feed member disposed rearwardly of said knitting needles in the direction of knitting, and means operated in timed relation with said needle reciprocating means for imparting work feeding motion to said feed member while said knitting needles are reciprocated out of said work supporting plate, said work supporting plate being formed with apertures accommodating movement of said work feeding member therethrough into and out of engagement with knitting disposed on said Work supporting plate, and means for shifting said work feeding member through said work supporting plate apertures and into engagement with knitting thereon while said knitting needles are reciprocated out of said Work supporting plate.

6. In a knitting machine having a casing provided with an apertured Work supporting plate, a plurality of sliding bolt knitting needles carried in said casing in alignment laterally of the direction of knitting, each of said knitting needles including a shank formed with a yarn engaging throat, a bolt slidable relatively to said shank for opening and closing said yarn engaging throat, and separate drive means for imparting endwise reciprocatory motion to said knitting needle shanks and said bolts through said apertured work supporting plate and reciprocatory motion to said bolts relatively to said knitting shanks, yarn guiding means for directing yarns into said opened yarn engaging throats, means for drawing knitted yarn loops from said knitting needles comprising a shiftable work feeding member operable intermittently through said apertu-red work supporting plate, a feed drive means for shifting said work feeding member through said apertured work supporting plate in engagment with knitting thereon, a separate feed drive means for imparting work feeding motion to said work feeding member in a direction away from said knitting needles, and means for operating both said feed drive means in timed relation with the drive means for reciprocating said knitting needles as to effect work feeding while said knitting needles are reciprocated out of said Work supporting plate.

7. In a knitting machine as set forth in claim 6 in which said work supporting plate and said yarn guiding means are reciprocable laterally of the direction of knitting to cooperate with laterally adjacent needles on alternate needle reciprocations, said means for drawing knitted yarn loops from said knitting needles including a frame operatively connected to said separate feed drive means, and a guide channel extending substantially parallel to said aligned knitting needles, and in which said work feeding member is constrained in said apertured work supporting plate for reciprocation therewith laterally of the direction of knitting and also constrained in said guide channel for influence by said feed drive means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,726,456 8/ 1929 Scheni 66-87 2,075,213 4/1937 Lindner 661 2,711,092 6/ 1955 Peters 66-84 2,935,862 5/1960 Jette 661 3,079,778 3/1963 Kubelka et al. 6685 3,166,921 1/1965 Svoboda et al. 66-84 3,309,900 3/1967 Wunsch et al. 6685 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,352,173 1/1964 France.

681,084 9/ 1939 Germany.

898,944 12/ 1953 Germany.

982,449 2/ 1965 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

W. C. REYNOLDS, Assistant Examiner. 

5. IN A KNITTING MACHINE HAVING A CASING, A PLURALITY OF KNITTING NEEDLES CARRIED IN SAID CASING IN ALIGNMENT LATERALLY OF THE DIRECTION OF KNITTING, EACH OF SAID KNITTING NEEDLES BEING FORMED WITH AN OPEN YARN ENGAGING THROAT, A WORK SUPPORTING PLATE CARRIED ON SAID KNITTING MACHINE CASING HAVING KNITTING NEEDLE ACCOMMODATING APERTURES FORMED THEREIN, MEANS FOR IMPARTING ENDWISE RECIPROCATORY MOTION TO SAID KNITTING NEEDLES IN UNISON THROUGH SAID WORK SUPPORTING PLATE APERTURES, A PLURALITY OF ENDWISE SHIFTABLE BOLTS ONE FOR EACH OF SAID KNITTING NEEDLES, MEANS FOR IMPARTING ENDWISE RECIPROCATORY MOTION TO SAID BOLTS IN TIMED RELATION WITH SAID NEEDLE RECIPROCATION OT OPEN AND CLOSE THE YARN ENGAGING THROATS OF SAID KNITTING NEEDLES, YARN GUIDING MEANS CARRIED IN SAID CASING FOR DIRECTING YARNS INTO SAID OPENED YARN ENGAGING THROATS, AND MEANS FOR DRAWING YARN LOOPS FROM SAID KNITTING NEEDLES COMPRISING A SHIFTABLE WORK FEED MEMBER DISPOSED REARWARDLY OF SAID KNITTING NEEDLES IN THE DIRECTION OF KNITTING, AND MEANS OPERATED IN TIMED RELATION WITH SAID NEEDLE RECIPROCATING MEANS FOR IMPARTING WORK FEEDING MOTION TO SAID FEED MEMBER WHILE SAID KNITTING NEEDLES ARE RECIPROCATED OUT OF SAID WORK SUPPORTING PLATE, SAID WORK SUPPORTING PLATE BEING FORMED WITH APERTURES ACCOMMODATING MOVEMENT OF SAID WORK FEEDING MEMBER THERETHROUGH INTO AND OUT ENGAGEMENT WITH KNITTING DISPOSED ON SAID WORK SUPPORTING PLATE, AND MEANS FOR SHIFTING SAID WORK FEEDING MEMBER THROUGH SAID WORK SUPPORTING PLATE APERTURES AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH KNITTING THEREON WHILE SAID KNITTING NEEDLES ARE RECIPROCATED OUT OF SAID WORK SUPPORTING PLATE. 